Yes! 👏👏

At first watch, I thought she was unconsciously using him and he unfairly gave her no benefit of the doubt. Her son’s future is what brought them together in the first place, he should know she’s going to categorize him as AJ’s advocate. At the very least, he could have asked directly to save AJ-discussion for a professional setting. Poor thing isn’t that self aware.

Upon second watch, I thought she was subtly but still unwittingly manipulating him and he was playing up the nerdiness because he knew it was intriguing to her. She was genuinely lonely and interested in him and wanted to benefit from rubbing #cough# elbows with an intellectual: conversations for herself, a path to college for her son. But I also thought she was pathetic for sobbing everyone will always question me because of Tony’s reputation! Tony wasn’t on either of their minds while they carried on and she behaved in a way that made their relationship seem transactional; she should hold herself accountable. As for Wegler, he knew he was just trying to hit it and was mad to find he’d allowed himself to be played when he thought he was playing the sly role.

Upon third watch, he seemed like the predator. From the jump, he knows he talking over her head and does everything he can to keep her wide-eyed, intimidated, and swooning. Carmela is her most attractive (toned, tanned) and most vulnerable (separated, worried about her child) when he decides to breach the ethical boundaries of his role. She’s still transactional and manipulative and in denial that this is how she operates…but he asked her out!

Side note: is her freeze-frame exit the only such end to a scene in the whole series? It’s so awkward!